Introduction As the international benchmark for the global protection of intellectual rights, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs Agreement) defines Geographical Indications (GIs) as:

The TRIPs Agreement requires all WTO members, as a mandatory obligation of membership, to provide legal means to prevent the designation or presentation of a good (such as a trademark) that suggests, in a manner that misleads the public, that the good in question originates in a geographical area other than the true place of origin.

Geographical Indications (GIs) interact, and at times come into conflict, with trademarks. They are both intellectual property rights, and have similar functions in terms of providing identity to goods. However they also have crucial differences. A GI identifies a product directly associated with a particular territory, region or location and therefore cannot be assigned, licenced or traded. A trademark, on the other hand, distinguishes the product of the registered trademark owner from other products, and can be assigned, licensed or traded.

Recently, there has been an increasing interest worldwide to provide a legal protection for GIs. With increasing globalization of trade and advances in technology, different countries around the world are starting to enact or emend their geographical indications laws. The purpose is to preserve traditions and invest in quality products that are produced in rural areas of the country. Therefore, GIs identify certain products that are produced by people inhabiting a specific region, whether a town or city, in a country and which cannot be produced in any other area due to their unique attributes.

A case study of the Gulf region with its rich and unique environment is a good illustration of the impact of GIs on economy and culture and the importance of protecting them. The Gulf region has many products entitled to GI protection, whether on an individual state basis or collectively as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). To ensure the highest level of protection for GIs, countries must first enact or amend domestic laws and regulations. They then need to establish “institutional and administrative mechanism for the identification and registration of products eligible for GIs protection”. Lastly, they need to ratify treaties that protect GIs regionally and intentionally.